Agenda Item #7A - Ordinance 5-14-61CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH
CITY COMMISS ION MEETING
STAFF REPORT
AGENDA ITEM I/7A
MAY 12, 20 1'1
AGENDA ITEM : Ordinance No . 5-14-6 1: Amending Chapte r 2 of th e Code of Ordin ances,
Administration, Article II, C ity Commi ss ion, Sec. 2-16, T im e and Place of
Re g ular meetings, to prov ide for two regular meetings.
SUBMITTED BY Ne lso n VanLiere, Ci ty Manager @..._ __
DATE: April 18,20 14
BACKGRO UN D: On April 81h, 2013, th e City Commi ss io n approved Ordinance No. 5-13-58
amendin g the Co de to rep lace o ne of th e two scheduled meet in gs per month with
a workshop. This was done as a trial to address co mpl aints from the public that
there was not eno ugh tim e for citize n input on the age nd a items before a vote. By
workshopping the up co min g agenda, cit izens ha ve more tim e and opportunity to
be heard on all items before a vo te is cast.
Staff has worked ve ry hard to make the transition into the one meeting a month
schedul e s uc cessful. However, imp le mentation of thi s new schedu le ha s been
ex tremel y difficult for staff. After careful co ns id erat io n, we believe we have
co me up with an alte ma tivc that wi ll address everyo ne's co ncems.
Below is a list of unintended consequences that have been a challenge to staff
since the inception of a one meeting per month sched ule.
I . The agendas are roughl y twice the size. Thi s by itself wo uld not seem to be an
iss ue. Pl ease cons id er that each item is imp orta nt and is the res ult of staffs hard
wo rk. The entire age nd a mu st be ind exed and paginated, copied and bound,
sca nned and up loaded, di shibuted and linked to web pa ges .
2. Meetings ar e tw ice as long. A direct result of th e lengt hy agenda is th at the
meeti ngs tak e twi ce as long because th ere are twice as many ite ms to discuss.
3. The bureaucracy added to the approval process s lows the approva l of rou tin e
it ems do wn. For many import ant items, we recognize it is imp ortant to slow
down and hea r comm ents more than once. Routin e item s, however, are he ld up in
th e sa me tim elin e and arc not ab le to move forward despite littl e or no co mments
-t1·o m th e ci ti ze ns . Co nsent item s take only a few minutes to pass in th e meetin g,
but a full three to four wee ks to go tlu·ough the entire ap proval pr ocess.
4. Staff preparation seemin gl y never end s. As staff prepares for Com mi ssio n
mee ti ngs, we writ e propo sals and research a trem end o us amount o f inform atio n in
preparation for the meeting. Items of ro utine natu re are di scussed twi ce, more
imp ort ant items four tim es and sometim es, if deferr ed or as the result of an in itial
proposa l that Jed to th e ac ti on, th e agend a item m ay need to be fresh in our mind s
fo r six weeks as ne w item s acc umu late. We need to be ab le to ta ke ac ti on and
move forward.
5. Eve ry Agenda has been amended. Sin ce the in ce ptio n of th e one meet in g
schedu le, we have had num erous special ca lled meetin gs and every work s hop pcd
agend a has been amended. As staff hi es to make progress on projects or
co ntr acts , we sit and wai t throu gh long workshops where no acti on ca n be take n,
th ere was no discussion or co mm ents and ye t we must wai t anot her two weeks for
a n ap prova l.
AGENDA ITEM# 7A
MAY 12,2014
6. Ordinances require an additional month for approval. Ordinances set policy and
require two meetings to approve. This is by design a method of seeking
additional public input.
7. Workshop format places the Commissioners on the floor for round table
discussions. This helps, but almost every meeting there is a special called
meeting. This requires the cameras to be arranged differently and the sound
system is not as good due to the failure of Commissioners to speak into the mic.
We have had numerous complaints about the citizens not being able to hear the
Commissioners when they are seated in the workshop format. The public gets
confused about whether they are going to get action on an item or not. Staff is
unsure in some cases whether the invited speakers should come to a workshop,
Commission meeting or both.
8. Fear of missing an agenda deadline is real. Staff strives very hard to meet
deadlines. With only one meeting, the consequences of missing an agenda
deadline means either waiting another month for approval or requires that a
special called meeting be scheduled.
9. The meeting of most importance to the citizen is the workshop. This is where the
discussion takes place and this is the meeting the Commissioners need to be best
prepared for. The agenda is received two to three business days ahead of the
workshop. Of course they can prepare over the weekend and have four or five
days max. This gives commissioners only a few days to meet with staff to get
questions answered and we are busy getting ready for the meeting too.
Solution:
The solution being proposed is to return to two regular meetings a month, move
the agenda deadline up to allow for publicizing the agenda a minimum of 10 days
prior to the meetings, and start the meetings 30 minutes earlier. Below are the
reasons this approach would work in reference to each of the above items.
• Items 1 and 2 are addressed because the meetings will occur more often, each
agenda is smaller and therefore the meetings will be shorter. Also, returning to a
starting time for the meetings of 6:00 p.m. would allow staff and citizens to at
least get out 30 minutes earlier. Thirty minutes may not seem like a big
difference but for those who have to be at work at 8:00a.m. the next morning, it
does make a difference.
• Item 3 -Consultant presentations or interviews of selected persons for contracts
can be approved in the same night, if desired. The option to defer has always
been available.
• Items 3 and 4 -Items of a routine nature can be approved twice a month, allowing
staff to get projects started and allowing us to react and respond quicker to citizen
requests.
• Item 5 -Staff can prepare the reports for approval, attend a meeting and move
forward to the next project. The constant preparation and attendance at long
meetings for items on the agenda that pass with no discussion is a waste of
everyone's time.
• Item 5 -The number of amended agendas will be greatly reduced. The number of
versions of agendas floating around is becoming ridiculous. The Clerk has to wait
until the last minute to publish the agenda to make sure all the amended portions
are included.
• Item 6 -Items of significance deserve either a deferral for more discussion, a
public hearing and or a second reading. Ordinances are policy setting legislation
and as such require two meetings to pass. Significant/complicated items, such as
1\GHNDI\ ITEM /171\
MAY 12,20 14
the Hum an Right s Ordinance, may be discussed in a sepa rate wo rkshop. This has
alw ays been an o pti on.
• It em 7 -All meet ings can take place in the f01ma l se tting with the except ion of the
wo rk shops ca ll ed to discus s chosen items of significance. T he qua li ty of the
vid eo will be better for the viewi ng public and the profess iona lism wi ll be
e nh anced. Workshop settings sho u ld be for inform al discussion s of a limit ed
numb er of topics.
• It em 8 -The fear of mis s in g a meet in g deadline wil l be greatly red uced when
there will be anot her meeting within a few weeks.
• Item 9 -The change to the agend a process wi ll allow Co mmi ss ioners, staff,
citizens and the pr ess to rece ive th e age nd a at leas t I 0 days in advance of th e
meet in g. T hi s will all ow Commissioners two weekends to review and ample time
to talk with ci ti zens and get wi th staff. Tt will all ow sta ff to research and answer
additio na l co ncerns of cit izens after read in g the reports. The agenda wi ll b e
pub lished for the publi c to re view and staff is ava ilabl e to address co ncerns before
th e meet in g for over a week. lt will a ll ow the press to publish information about
item s of interest prior to the meeting. Thi s wi ll lead to a better inf01med public
and Co mmi ssio n and in turn lead to better decis io n making.
Kee p in mind that we have impl emented other pro cedu res lo enh a nce
co mmuni ca ti o ns with the citi zens sin ce the o ne meeting sched ul e was
implemented. We are now videotapi ng meetings a nd providing elect ronic
age nd as for co mm iss ion ers to use on city provided iPads. Management now
enco ur ages comm issioners to directly seck answers fro m staff if needed . This
enh a nces the res ponse tim e when ga th cli ng in for mati on for me etin g preparation s.
BUDGET: No budget impact.
RECOMMENDATION : Approve Ord inan ce No. 5-14-6 1
ATTACHMENTS: Ordinance No. 5-14-6 1
REVIEWED BY CITY MANAGER:~~~
ORDINANCE 5-14-61
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH,
FLORIDA, AMENDING CHAPTER 2 OF THE CODE OF
ORDINANCES, ADMINISTRATION, ARTICLE II, CITY
COMMISSION, SEC. 2-16, TIME AND PLACE OF REGULAR
MEETINGS, TO PROVIDE FOR TWO (2) REGULAR MEETINGS
PER MONTH EXCEPT FOR DECEMBER, CHANGING THE TIME
TO 6:00PM, AND PROVIDING AN EFFECTIVE DATE.
AGENDA ITEM# 7 A
MAY 12,2014
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY COMMISSION ON BEHALF OF THE PEOPLE OF THE
CITY OF ATLANTIC BEACH, FLORIDA:
SECTION 1: Sec.2-16 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Atlantic Beach, Florida, is hereby
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 2 16. Time and place of regular meetings and scheduled workshops.
(a) Tho regular meetings of the city commission shall be hold on the second Monday of each month.
(b) Scheduled workshops of the city commission shall be held as follo'NS:
(1) In the months of January through f:'Jovember, on tho fourth Monday of the month.
(2) In the month of December, on the third Monday of the month.
(c) All regular meetings and scheduled workshops of the city commission shall be hold in city hall at 6:30 p.m.
(d) If tho second or fourth Monday falls on a holiday, the regular meeting or scheduled workshop shall be hold
on Tuesday immediately following tho holiday.
Sec. 2-16 Time and place of Regular meetings.
The regular meetings of the city commission shall be held on the second and fourth Mondays of
each month, except December, in city hall, at 6:00 p.m. If the second or fourth Monday falls on a
holiday, the regular meeting shall be held on Tuesday immediately following the holiday. In the month
of December, the regular meeting shall be held on the second Monday of the month.
SECTION 2. This ordinance shall take effect immediately upon its final passage and adoption.
PASSED by the City Commission on first reading this __ day of _____ _
PASSED by the City Commission on this second and final reading this __ day of ____ _
ATTEST:
Donna L. Bartle, CMC
City Clerk
Approved as to form and correctness:
Rich Komando
City Attorney
Carolyn Woods
Mayor, Presiding Officer